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Dan: I am 100% behind a Mosquitor movement. You have to stand up and spread the word for all of us. My avatar may be an indication of my opinion there...

I'm going to geek out immensely now, so feel free to skip this.

The origin of the term "deus ex machina" (Which means literally "god in the machine") comes from ancient greek theatre. Many of these original plays featured convoluted plots with lots of intrigue and many also featured very simplistic solutions to those plots by having an actor portraying a god arriving on the scene and straightening everything out in the last minutes. No real resolution there except Zeus coming in and magicking all the problems away.

The "Machine" referred to was actually a crane from which these actors were often lowered onto the stage to imitate a divine appearance. Even at the time, people criticized this idea to solve plotlines, thinking it was cheap and cheesy. And that is what a deus ex machina still is, more or less. And it's still cheap and cheesy today.

Sorry, I just love obscure crap like that.

Back to the episode, part 2 of the Lee Nordling interview was spectacular once again. Great choice for an interview subject.

Ah nuts! I'm at work right now and don't have access to listen to this. Dying to know what Bruce Timm's connection to Fearless Photog is! I have a feeling I know what it is. Can't wait to see if my guess is right or not.

Gotta say, I love the bio discussion and hearing you all share your perspectives and feelings on them - LOVE IT.

It's no secret I love the bios and what is being attempted with them and I'd argue that what is taking place could be VERY relevant in 10 years. IMO the Masters, POP & NA of the 80's, the 200x and all the comics over the years all have a new sense of purpose brought to them in MOTUC.

New elements have been introduced in every canon but this is the first Mattel created canon that's committed to tying all the past canons together. With that goal some elements are going to be askew from our existing thoughts / perspectives. Even without a lot of blurred lines and contradictory stuff, which there is a ton of, changes in general are tough. I was beyond anti MOTUC when it was announced. But I grew to appreciate this purpose, when all is said and done we are going to have a Mattel created story that brings all the canons together. Could they have just used existing, known material, and left out things like Demo-Man? Sure - but that line of thinking may have also prevented elements like He-Ro, The Goddess, and even Tytus and Gygor from ever being introduced into MOTUC at all. So I'm fine with the Oo-Larr's, Demo-Man's and Wun-Dar's because while "new" they are nothing but examples of Mattel's attempt to leave no stone unturned and pull as much of the mythos together for us into one storyline.

That said - in the last episode (?) Emilliano mentioned something about wanting a book or encyclopedia that instead of all this tying together instead gave us histories/evolustions of all MOTU elements, i.e., the He-Man in the comic "He-Man and the Power Sword" was later redefined in the MOTUC canon as "Oo-Larr" I think is an EXCELLENT idea. I think it should be called "CANONS - The Evolution of Mattel's Masters of the Universe"

I couldn't agree more with Eamon about not wanting a pink unicorn amongst a bunch of warriors.

A pink unicorn is strange among a green tiger, purple panther, orange falcon or yellow gorilla? I'd say Swiftwind is in good company.

Originally Posted by Tallstar

Bruce Timm doesn't like to talk about MOTU? I never knew that. I would love to know if he has any other information or interesting stories about the Create A Character contest.

Yeah, he rags on it a bit in an interview in this black and white book/magazine about his work. He digs Conan, but thinks MOTU is Conan for kids. Again, it's another one of those situations where "it was just a job" when he was younger.

Yes, you are right. A pink unicorn is no less threatening than a green tiger, orange falcon, or purple panther. Got to fear those fearful pink unicorns. I'm shuddering.

I'm thinking that Swiftwind has uses like the winged horses that heroes use in myth.

Yeah, Swiftwind isn't 200X Battle Cat. I'm laughing because I remember all the flak 200X BC got for having guns--I guess he was TOO EXTREME...Swiftwind wishes he had that problem...

Most definitely a winged horse or unicorn is no gorilla or giant panther, but colored animals and steeds are all over MOTU. The POP steeds are mostly for transportation only. MOTU steeds are transportation and are armored dangerous animals.

And I must disagree with the comparison of Count Marzo with my alter ego of Boba Fett. Not dissing my homey .org Count Marzo, but MOTU Count Marzo is no where near Boba Fett in my humble yet evil opinion. MOTU Count Marzo is his own person. Marzo is as Marzo does...

"Wheresoever on earth he dwells, man is prey to two weaknesses: the need to pray and the need to love."-Marquis de Sade

"It is not by reasoning or by our understanding that we have received our religion; it is by external authority and command."-Michel De Montaigne

Yes, you are right. A pink unicorn is no less threatening than a green tiger, orange falcon, or purple panther. Got to fear those fearful pink unicorns. I'm shuddering.

Here is my question. In the the world of fantasy that MOTU is set in, are we truly saying that their is no room for anything remotely whimsical at all? If that was the case, Orko wouldn't have the following that he does.

I don't see any reason why Swiftwind couldn't be pink. Yes, by most standards the color pink is not threatening. Again, we are dealing with a world where our rules may not necessarily apply (hence talking green tigers, orange falcons, yellow witches, purple velvet panthers, etc.) In MOTU, maybe unicorns are something to be feared. This may especially be true on Eternia, b/c prior to She-Ra traveling from Etheria we have never seen unicorns on Eternia. The myths about how powerful these creatures really could prove to be quite a psychological advantage in battle. Having no exposure to these kinds of creatures before, the Evil Warriors may not necessarily know what kind of threat Swiftwind poses (And neither do we for that matter, as I'm sure the extent of his abilities will be brought to light in his bio)

I think it's important to understand that in order for their to be definitions to the shadows, you have to have light somewhere. Making the world of MOTU just pure grit and darkness leaves it as a very flat environment for stories. That's the plus side of having the characters from Etheria join the battle, as colorful as they may be. Make no mistake, there are some characters from Etheria that I'm not a fan of (Sweet Bee stands out in my mind), but I think it's completely plausible to have these characters bring "ethereal" elements if you will, to the story.

My bad. I was under the impression we never saw them on Eternia before. I don't know if that was the only time in any canon (mini comic, filmation, 200x, etc), but I stand by what I meant by the advantages of having an unknown factor in battle.